Why Unaccompanied Migrant Children Arrive in the US 2:25
(CNN) -
High-ranking officials from the Biden government travel to Mexico on Monday to discuss migration management in the context of an increase in unaccompanied minors crossing the border into the United States.
The trip will be made by Roberta Jacobson, the Biden administration coordinator for the southern border, and Juan González, director of the National Security Council (NSC) for the Western Hemisphere, according to NSC spokesperson Emily Horne. .
The two will be joined by the special envoy of the State Department for the Northern Triangle, Ricardo Zúñiga.
Zúñiga is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service.
His appointment as a special envoy was announced Monday by the State Department.
Later, González and Zúñiga will travel to Guatemala.
There they will meet with President Alejandro Giammattei, Foreign Minister Pedro Brolo and others, according to high-ranking administration officials.
"This is an important trip and one that builds on the administration's work focused on addressing the root causes of irregular migration as a cyclical regional problem that does not begin or end at the southern border of the United States," said a senior official. administration degree.
The officials plan to dialogue with government officials about managing migration in the short term.
However, they also seek long-term plans to address the root causes of migration and ways to expand economic opportunities, according to officials.
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Inside a Border Patrol facility where immigrant minors remain in Texas
Biden said he will travel to the Mexican border "at some point"
The trip comes as the Biden administration has to cope with an increase in the number of unaccompanied minors arriving at the border, which has overwhelmed and strained government resources.
Administration officials said Thursday that the federal government had more than 14,000 migrant children in its custody.
"We are working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week," Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union" on Sunday.
On Sunday, Mayorkas declined to give dates on when the government will open new facilities to handle the increase.
He said it would be "as soon as possible."
Mayorkas said the coronavirus pandemic partially complicated the administration's efforts.
He also blamed the Biden administration for dismantling the immigration system.
President Joe Biden said Sunday that he himself would travel to the border "at some point."
"I know what is happening in those facilities," Biden told reporters.
This is the border for unaccompanied immigrant minors 4:58
More than 800 unaccompanied migrant minors have been in Border Patrol custody for more than 10 days, according to documents reviewed by CNN.
Federal law requires that unaccompanied children be released within 72 hours to the Department of Health and Human Services.
This department oversees a network of shelters designed to accommodate minors.
However, amid the limitations linked to the pandemic, children are being held in custody for more than the 72-hour limit.
CNN's Priscilla Álvarez and Nicole Gaouette contributed to this report.